Conventional finance- and/or credit-related systems utilize centralized electronic databases as ledgers to record and store transaction information. In a typical banking ledger system for example, a central authority validates the authenticity of the transactions recorded in the database. While such databases have been used by financial institutions for decades, such centralized designs can present certain limitations and inefficiencies, for example, in updating, maintaining, validating, securing, and/or communicating the records and related information. Furthermore, in certain conventional systems, records may be susceptible to lost information, tampering, inadvertent changes, validation delays, etc.
Recent advances in computing power, cryptography, and network connectivity have enabled so-called distributed “blockchain” systems for applications that can simultaneously record transaction-related entries in multiple places, and at the same time. Unlike traditional centralized databases, however, such blockchain systems typically have no central data store or administration functionality: transactions are bundled into blocks that are chained together, and then broadcasted to other nodes in the network. Bitcoin is well-known digital currency that utilizes blockchain techniques and peer-to-peer networks in which transactions are replicated among nodes and validated without the traditional administrative or central controller.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved ledger systems and methods in which a balanced approach between centralized and distributed architecture is utilized to provide appropriate control and flexibility.